Saturday, March 25, 2006

Abdul Rahman, potential martyr

The chasm between Islamic societies following sharia law and the civilized world couldn't be any more stark than in the case of Abdul Rahman, who faces a possible death sentence in Afghanistan for the crime of converting from Islam to Christianity, could it? There are moderate Muslims in this world; what can be done so that they can cast these hard-line clerics out to the lunatic extreme where they belong? If a great reform in Islam doesn't come soon, these maniac mullahs are condemning their countries to a future of nothing but barbarism and strife.

Update: The AP is reporting that they've dropped the case against Rahman due to lack of evidence. This saves Rahman's life, as long as he can make it out of Afghanistan without an angry mob killing him. What kind of a phony religious leader goads people into mob violence? Dropping the case is something of a legal cop-out, though; Afghanis in the future could still face the death penalty for the crime of following their conscience.